Notes: These
weapons, along with the R-6 compact assault rifle, are the standard assault
weapons of South Africa.They are
based on the Israeli Galil, with some changes to suit local conditions:The buttstock is also lengthened, since the average South African soldier
is bigger than the average Israeli soldier, and the fragility of the Galil has
been fixed by using stronger plastics and a somewhat heavier 18.1-inch barrel.The sights and the gas tube have been likewise reinforced to prevent the
damage that plagues the Galil.The
R-4 is the standard assault rifle and comes with a bipod; the R-5 is a shortened
carbine version, similar in concept to the Galil SAR.The R-6 is a compact assault rifle, radically shortened.There are three other versions, the LM-4, LM-5, and LM-6; these are
semiautomatic versions of the R-4, R-5, and R-6 built for police and civilian
use.The normal magazine for the
R-4/5/6 series is a reinforced plastic 35-round magazine; steel 50-round
magazines were also made when the R-4/5/6 series was first introduced, but
production of them stopped a short while after South Africa began producing
them; the troops dislike them as they prevent the use of the built-in bipod of
the R-4.

A few years
after introduction of the R-4, the South African government also gave the
authorization to Armscor to create a civilian version of the R-4.This weapon, the LM-4, was not meant as a mere walking-around or hunting
rifle; at the time, violence at the hands of foreign countries as well as
domestic terrorist groups was a big problem for outlying South African ranchers
and their large amounts of land to patrol.The LM-4 generally conforms to the R-4, but is a semiautomatic-only
weapon with a few other quirks.The
biggest difference, other than the operation, is the fire selector – the LM-4
has, in effect, two fire selectors.
The first is the standard AK-type fire selector, inherited from its Galil
heritage; the second is an ambidextrous switch-type selector near the pistol
grip.For the switch to function,
the AK-type selector must be set on “Fire;” a side effect of this arrangement is
that the switch is backwards in operation compared to most rifles, with the
switch pointing forward to fire and back to be on safe.The switch is said to be stiff, but there are workarounds to this
problem. Production of the LM-4 stopped when Apartheid ended in South Africa.
For game purposes, the LM-4 is identical to the R-4 except for the lack of
automatic fire capability.

Twilight 2000
Notes: Similar to the Notes, but the 50-round magazines are more readily
available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Merc 2000 Notes:
Similar to the Notes, but the R-4/5/6 series has begun to appear on the
international arms market in the past few years.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

R-4

5.56mm NATO

4.3 kg

35, 50

$1037

R-5

5.56mm NATO

3.7 kg

35, 50

$555

R-6

5.56mm NATO

3.675 kg

35, 50

$534

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

R-4

5

3

1-Nil

5/6

2

5

48

R-4 (With Bipod)

5

3

1-Nil

5/6

1

3

62

R-5

5

3

1-Nil

4/5

2

6

29

R-6

5

2

1-Nil

4/5

2

6

22

Truvelo Raptor

Notes: When I
first saw pictures of the Raptor in the March 2010 issue of
Small Arms Review, I thought to
myself, “I’ve seen a rifle almost identical to that one before…”And then it occurred to me where I’d seen a rifle that looked very much
like the Raptor: the Croatian APS-95.And then I thought, “The APS-95 is derived from the Galil, the R-4 series
is derived from the Galil…it’s got to be more than a coincidence.”

However, this
remains my own speculation at this point; I’ve found no documentation that the
Raptor is based on the R-4/Galil or is inspired by APS-95.Just a thought at this point.

It does,
however, look like a more-evolved version of the APS-96, with the light,
built-in, low carrying handle about the point of balance and similar lines.The Raptor, however, has MIL-STD-1913 rails behind and in front of that
carrying handle, atop the handguard and receiver.It also had three more MIL-STD-1913 rails, two short ones on the sides of
the handguards near the front which extend halfway down the handguard, and a
longer one under the handguard that extends the length of the handguard.The carrying handle looks like that of the APS-95, but it is shorter, and
does not contain the optic sight that the APS-95’s carrying handle does. The
flash suppressor is appears in most pictures to be an A2-type, though some
pictures show it with a flash suppressor that has twisting openings, and some
also show it with an open birdcage-type suppressor.The hooded front sight is on a triangular post and is fixed, while the
rear sight is mounted on the MIL-STD-1913 rail, is adjustable, and removable.Most optics can be mounted on the receiver’s MIL-STD-1913 rail to clear
the carrying handle, either in stock form or by use of low risers.The carrying handle, like the handguards, are polymer and has the same
shape as an R-4’s pistol grip; it is also hollow.The side-folding stock is skeletonized and reinforced with a central
spar.Controls are ambidextrous and
mounted in front of and above the pistol grip instead of being AK-type.Listed magazine sizes are 30 and 35 rounds; presumably, these are the
same 35-round magazines as used on the R-4 series, but I have not been able to
discover if the Raptor can use NATO-standard or NATO-compatible magazines.The 7.62mm Kalashnikov chambering uses standard AK-type magazines.Three models are available: The Infantry Rifle, with a 17-inch barrel,
the Carbine Rifle, with either a 9-inch barrel (for 5.56mm) or 12-inch barrel
(for 7.62mm Kalashnikov), and the Support Rifle, a dual-purpose weapon designed
both for limited supporting fires and as a designated marksman rifle.The Support Rifle uses a heavy 22-inch barrel and comes with a bipod as
standard. The Raptor is normally issued with an Aimpoint Comp M2 ACOG-type
sight, and this is included in the cost of the rifle.The Raptor is a new weapon as of Spring 2010, and still being shopped
around.

Twilight 2000
Notes: The Raptor is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Infantry Rifle

5.56mm NATO

4.6 kg

30, 35

$753

Infantry Rifle

7.62mm Kalashnikov

4.6 kg

30, 40

$1004

Carbine Rifle

5.56mm NATO

4 kg

30, 35

$670

Carbine Rifle

7.62mm Kalashnikov

4.23 kg

30, 40

$951

Support Rifle

5.56mm NATO

5.88 kg

30, 35

$1329

Support Rifle

7.62mm Kalashnikov

5.88 kg

30, 40

$1587

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Infantry Rifle (5.56mm)

5

3

1-Nil

4/6

2

5

43

Infantry Rifle (7.62mm)

5

4

2-Nil

5/6

3

8

49

Carbine Rifle (5.56mm)

5

2

1-Nil

3/4

2

5

16

Carbine Rifle (7.62mm)

5

3

2-Nil

4/5

2

6

29

Support Rifle (5.56mm)

5

3

1-Nil

5/7

2

5

65

With Bipod

5

3

1-Nil

5/7

1

2

84

Support Rifle (7.62mm)

5

4

2-3-Nil

6/7

3

8

68

With Bipod

5

4

2-3-Nil

6/7

2

4

88

Vektor CR-21

Notes: The CR-21
is a new bullpup design rifle of South African origin.Despite the looks of the weapon, the CR-21 is basically an R-4 modified
to bullpup design and with improved operation.(Vektor also manufactures a kit to convert existing R-4 rifles into
CR-21s.)The body is made entirely
of polymer injection molding, and is designed to take up the shock of an
accidental dropping to prevent unintended weapon discharges.The CR-21 has a reflex optical sight that offers no magnification, but
provides a superior sight picture to iron sights whether day or night.This sight can be removed and replaced with a MIL-STD-1913 rail.40mm grenade launchers of South African or Western design can be mounted
under the barrel, but an interface kit is required.The weapon can uses plastic/nylon magazines designed for it, but the
plastic 35-round magazines designed for the R-4 can also be used.The firing selector switch is separate from the safety switch; both are
ambidextrous, but the safety is on the stock while the fire control switch is
just above the trigger guard.The
CR-21 itself is not ambidextrous; it can only be fired from the right shoulder,
due to the position of its ejection port.The trigger guard is large enough to be used with fingerless mittens.The stock also has space for a small cleaning kit.

The South
African National Defense Force has plans to replace the R-4 series with the
CR-21 in the next few years, but they have had these plans for a while, with
money being the stumbling block.It
is produced in the three calibers commonly used in African militaries, but most
CR-21s are built to fire 5.56mm NATO ammunition; the other two chamberings have
been built only in small numbers mostly for experimental and evaluation
purposes.Ejection of the spent
round is very violent and the spent cases are normally not usable without
considerable work.

A further
variant, a carbine with a shorter barrel and slightly shorter stock, is under
evaluation by SANDF and the South African Police.This model is some 100mm shorter and so far has been evaluated only in
the 5.56mm NATO chambering.As of
2006, it is still considered only an experimental variant.

Twilight 2000
Notes:The CR-21 was adopted by
South Africa in 1997 and saw limited international sales.Unfortunately, there was never enough money to replace anywhere near all
the R-4 series rifles, and the polymer body was difficult to manufacture after
1999 or so.The carbine variant
does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Merc 2000 Notes:
The CR-21 sold better on the international market than it did to SANDF; the
South African government just didn’t have much money for new assault rifles, and
didn’t see a need for them as long as R-4 series weapons were still functioning
well.